The last time Roy Carroll played a competitive game of football at Ferney Park things were very different.
For the club Premiership football was a far-fetched dream, and for the player a professional career playing for clubs like Manchester United seemed unimaginable.
A lot has happened since he left Fermanagh for Hull City in 1995, but on Saturday he will return to a place he calls his ‘second home’, as he dons the Linfield shirt to face his old club.
The trip to Fermanagh was always one Roy was looking forward to once he signed for the Blues in the summer, and he admits he was delighted when he saw the fixture schedule had sent him back to Ferney Park at the earliest available opportunity.
“It was brilliant and I can’t wait to go back to Ballinamallard,” he said. “They gave me a big helping hand in my professional career before I went to Hull City many, many years ago so I’m looking forward to the first game. I can’t wait to go down, but when the game starts I will be a Linfield player looking for three points. I’m a professional footballer and no matter who comes in front of me I want to win, but I have good mates down there and there are a lot of good people at the club. It’s like my second home.”
Roy’s varied club career saw him represent Hull City, Wigan, Manchester United, West Ham, Derby County, Odense, OFI Crete, Olympiacos and Notts County, but at the age of 38 he finally made the decision to return to Northern Ireland for family reasons. “I was two years away from the family because I wanted to play football in England to get myself into the Northern Ireland team and be prepared coming up to the Euros,” he explained. “My son and daughter and wife were living in Northern Ireland and two years away from the family was very difficult. I think the opportunity for me to come home was the main attraction and it was a chance to come back and try to give something back to the community before I call it a day. It is a big change to come back into part time football. It’s very difficult for the players here who work from nine to five but for me personally I am enjoying it. When you get older and more experienced you just enjoy playing any type of football.”
Having made the decision to return closer to home, he was delighted when former Northern Ireland teammate David Healy offered him the chance to play his football for Linfield. “I know David Healy very well. He was one of my best mates with Northern Ireland and I know what he wants and I know he is a winner, and I want to try to win trophies with Linfield,” he stated. “We all know how big Linfield is but the last four years obviously has not been great but things could change around this year and in the next few years, fingers crossed. I have come back to win trophies.”
Before signing the deal with Linfield, Roy spent the summer at the European Championships with Northern Ireland. He admits it was an experience that will live long in the memory. “It was an amazing experience,” he said. “The players did brilliantly over not just the finals but over the two years leading up to it. We worked hard and our reward was going to France. We took every chance we could and we got the three points against Ukraine which got us through. It was a great result, although it was disappointing how we went out. It was a great experience though and I have memories there now that will stay with me for the rest of my career and the rest of my life.”
Roy had to watch from the side lines as fellow Fermanagh man Michael McGovern excelled between the posts, but he admits he had no hard feelings at having to spend the tournament on the bench. “Of course as a professional footballer you want to play, but Michael had done really well,” he said.
“I was very happy and very pleased for him. He has been waiting for quite a while to get into the team and when he did he showed what a good keeper he is on his day. The year before I picked up an injury and Michael kept me out and played really well in the last five games in the group stages, so there are no complaints there from me. All us keepers are a very close unit!”
Although he has lost his first team place for the moment, Roy still has no intentions of announcing his International retirement, and has informed the national team manager Michael O’Neill of his continued availability. “I am still 38 and that’s still young enough for a keeper so I think I have another few years left in me,” he said. “I’m going to take each year as it comes. I have spoken to Michael and said it was up to him, but I am keen to stay on because you are a long time retired. I still want to play for my country and I will still there for selection in September if required.”
There will come a time when Roy does have to hang up his gloves but he is planning to remain in football, and hopes to set up a goalkeeping school to help bring on the next generation of Northern Ireland keepers. “I am doing my B licence and hoping to do my A licence during the season,” he said.
“By next summer I will be working with young kids around Fermanagh and Northern Ireland. The thing with keepers is that it is a lot of one to one work. It’s ok training with 20 outfield players but you need to have a coach who can work with one or two keepers. That is what I am hoping to be addressing with a goal keeping school and hopefully things work out with that,” concluded Roy.